Mike vs. Mike

The Nutter administration argued that reducing the number of libraries represented good-government right-sizing: The library’s infrastructure is built for two million people, and our population has shrunk by 30 percent. The problem is that these same facts were true in 2005, when then-Councilman Nutter successfully marched to restore planned cuts to library funding.

The question this flip-flop raised was entirely unappealing: Which Nutter was disingenuous? The one who defended the libraries, or the one who cut them? And so the final weeks of Nutter’s first year ended, fittingly, with a chorus of boos. Meanwhile, behind all this public controversy, our new mayor was encountering other problems that weren’t garnering so much attention.

UPON HIS ELECTION, Nutter issued a Kennedy-esque call for the “best and brightest” to work in the city’s government. In practice, Nutter’s team has mostly been expensive. He built a senior staff costing almost $2 million more than Street’s. His largesse landed some hefty résumés, including Andrew Altman, perhaps best known for his planning work in Washington, D.C.; Camille Barnett, a think-tank star who worked government jobs in Austin, Texas, and D.C.; and Donald Schwarz, a heavyweight from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

These are big hires, but there seems to be some divide between the obvious qualifications of Nutter’s team and its ability to get things done — between the romantic idea of reform and the actual form our city government is taking.

Nutter’s style is part of the problem; he’s been widely accused of micro-managing too many initiatives. And businesspeople who must deal with the city to get their projects green-lighted all say the same thing: The Nutter administration can’t seem to make decisions. “No one wants their name printed,” said one local business attorney, “and no one wants to reveal what project of theirs is being held up, because they’re still waiting for an answer, yes or no. They’re scared that if they criticize the administration, the answer will be no.”

Nutter is dismissive of questions about delays — “It’s hard to respond to a fictitious project” — and attributes the complaint to people “who are used to picking up the phone, and from there it’s all a matter of who they know.”

The Nutter administration stood that process on its head — making the planning department the first stop. This sounds smart. And deputy mayor for planning and economic development Andrew Altman says the business community is simply adjusting to the change. But when asked if the Department of Commerce has produced some sort of one-sheet or written guide to lead businesspeople through the new process, Altman says, “No. We’re working on it.”